Red Zone: Boys of Fall (21 page)

She meant her words as a joke, but her dad didn’t laugh. “You can’t tie someone to you who doesn’t want to be there. If it doesn’t work out, you stop picking up jackasses and go out with some nice guys.
One
at a time. I’ll make you a list.”

“Deal.”

“And I should warn you, I’m taking my own advice outta this room.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’ve had my eye on a woman here in town. I’m gonna ask her out.”

Sadie’s eyebrows flew up. “On a date? You never date.”

“Well, I’m going to start.”

“Who caught your eye?” Sadie had never heard her father express interest in any woman. Ever.

Dad chuckled. “Joel’s mother.”

“Ms. Rodriguez? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Her father scowled. “What are you talking about? She’s a beautiful woman. And very nice.”

Sadie wasn’t sure how to respond. When she did, her concerns came out in a jumble. “She’s kind of…um…she goes to church every Sunday, Dad. We’re atheists. And she’s pretty straitlaced. None of that taking-the-Lord’s-name-in-vain kind of stuff. Your favorite curse is Jesus Christ on a cracker. And…well, she doesn’t drink, does she? You own a bar.”

Dad shrugged as if none of that mattered. “Don’t care. Still going to ask her to dinner.”

Sadie sighed. Why was she fighting this? She was delighted her father was putting himself back out there. She sincerely hoped he found someone. Just…maybe not Joel’s mom. “Do me a favor?”

Her dad nodded.

“Don’t marry her. If things go well tonight, I could potentially be sleeping with my stepbrother. And that’s just…ew.”

Dad laughed loudly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her to the door. “Take the rest of the day off. Go make things right with those guys. And once it’s all worked out, tell them to stop by and see me sometime. I want to show them my gun collection.”

Sadie sat on the porch of the bunkhouse looking out across the ranch. It was late afternoon. She hadn’t considered her timing after she’d walked out of the bar. She’d had a single-minded purpose and that was to come here.

And that was what she’d done after a quick pit stop at her apartment for a shower, some primping, a sexier shirt and the surprise she was hoping against hope she’d have the opportunity to use.

If she’d been thinking clearly, she would have realized the guys were working and called ahead. Or waited until quitting time. Which would have killed her.

Given the fact they hadn’t seen or heard her approach, they must be well away from the main part of the ranch.

So, she would wait. Part of her thought this was a lucky break because it would give her time to think about what she should say.

She soon realized that was a very bad thing. She was much better off-the-cuff, unrehearsed. The longer she tried to figure out what words to use, the worse they got.

She replayed the night at the restaurant over and over, her own cruel words slicing through her. Within half an hour, she’d worked herself into a frenzy. She considered hopping on her bike and splitting, leaving Quinn and never looking back. That would be the easy way out—her mother’s way.

She didn’t even bother to stand. She’d spent a lifetime hiding and the better part of two months denying what she wanted.

Gravel on the driveway caught her attention. She didn’t move as she watched the pickup truck pull up to the bunkhouse and come to a stop. Sadie didn’t even blink as Oakley and Joel climbed out of the vehicle, their gazes resting on her face.

Only once they’d approached the porch did she bother to rise.

Before either of them spoke, she raised her hand as a slew of ridiculous words flew from her lips.

“Don’t read too much into this.” Wow. Great start. Clearly the old Sadie wasn’t going down without a fight.

“I mean, don’t expect much.” Oh yeah. That was much better.

Apparently it didn’t matter. Oakley started grinning like a guy who’d just won the lottery, and Joel leaned against the railing of the porch, arms crossed, looking like the cockiest son of a bitch on the planet.

She scowled. “Don’t look at me like that.” Her words were growing softer. They lacked conviction.

“You’re almost there,” Joel prodded. “Try one more time.”

His words were a dare. Fine. She’d show him.

“Don’t leave me or I’ll hunt you down and cut your cocks off.”

Oakley laughed loudly at her very earnest and sincere threat. Sadie couldn’t find the humor in this.

“I mean it,” she said, her voice sounding pathetic even to her own ears.

Oakley sobered up as Joel walked over to her quickly. “Never, Sade. We’re never going to leave you.”

Oakley moved to stand next to Joel. “Never.” He sealed that vow with a sweet, gentle kiss. Joel offered the same.

For several quiet moments, they merely held each other, their lips occasionally meeting for another quick, soft kiss.

Oakley was the first to break the silence. “Can I tell you I love you now?”

She shook her head. “No. I get to go first. I love you. And I’m sorry I was such a douchebag at the restaurant. I’m lugging around about two tons of baggage.”

“Guess it’s a good thing you fell for two strong cowboys. We can carry that shit away for you. No problem.” Joel placed one hand on her hip. It was meant to reassure her, but it also fired up her libido. She wished he’d slipped his fingers under her shirt and found skin.

“I guess it is,” she whispered, touched by his words and dizzy under his touch. He seemed to have read her mind, his hand drifting along her hip and around to cup her ass cheek. When he squeezed it tightly, she was done for.

“What’s that?” Oakley asked as he pointed at the bag she’d dropped beside her chair as she waited.

“Plan B,” she said, grinning as she recalled how she’d intended to beg for their forgiveness. They all seemed to be fairly evenly matched when it came to sexual appetites and lack of willpower. She had shamelessly planned to seduce them into accepting her apology.

Joel walked toward it but she stepped in front of him, trying to hold him back. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, then a wicked smile crept onto his handsome face. “I think I like the idea of plan B.”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe so, but you’ve already forgiven me, so it’s not necessary.” Sadie had every intention in the world of enacting plan B, C, a few O’s and the XXX one as well. But now that they’d turned the corner, it felt good to get back to the teasing, fun nature of their relationship.

“What’s in the bag, Sadie?” Joel asked. Before she could reply, Oakley slid by her and grabbed it. His eyes widened with delight when he peeked inside.

“Jesus, Sade. I honestly didn’t think I could love you any more, but I was wrong.”

She laughed, slightly surprised when his words of affection didn’t prompt the same familiar fear in her. Instead, they warmed her, made her feel good.

He handed the bag to Joel. Unlike Oakley, his expression didn’t turn to humor. It morphed into hardcore lust. Instantly.

“Get in the house,” he demanded. “Both of you.”

Sadie followed Oakley, the three of them walking straight to the bedroom.

Their clothing fell away in one big heap as they raced to strip. It had only been four days since they’d seen each other, but to Sadie it felt more like years. She didn’t want to live in a world where she couldn’t touch these men, couldn’t sleep nestled between them.

Once they were naked, Oakley pressed her down onto the bed and climbed over her. They lost
no
time making up for lost time. They were connected from head to toe, kissing, touching, exploring, teasing. She cupped his balls, playing with them as he pinched her nipple. Neither of them came up for air until the bag landed on the mattress next to them.

“Tell me about this plan B,” Joel said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He hadn’t attempted to break into her make-out session with Oakley. Instead, he’d seemed content with simply watching. She’d noticed his voyeuristic kink before. In fact, she shared it. There was nothing hotter than watching Joel and Oakley kiss.

It was so fucking incredible that she hoped for a longer show some time.

“I was wondering if the two of you had…um…you know…” She wasn’t the type of woman to blush, but heat crept up her neck to her cheeks as she added, “done the deed?”

Sadie knew Oakley was anxious for that to happen, but he’d held back in deference to Joel, who had been a bit reticent.

Oakley chuckled, but Joel didn’t. Instead he shook his head. “No. We haven’t.”

Given the look on his face, it was obvious Joel was more than ready to take it to the next level now.

Sadie wondered how he’d feel once she told him what she wanted to do. Then she decided some things were better felt than heard. She pressed on Oakley’s shoulder and he fell to the side of her, allowing her to sit up.

“Kiss Oakley,” she said. Joel narrowed his eyes. Unlike her and Oakley, he wasn’t wired to take orders in the bedroom without question. It was difficult for him to give up the control. Even so, Sadie knew how she wanted this to play out, so she gave him a sweet smile that promised she’d repay the favor. “Please.”

Joel reached for his friend, tugging him close. She was always enthralled by the sheer brute strength in her men. Though they’d taken her roughly, it was obvious they’d held back some of their power, unwilling to hurt her physically. With each other, those kid gloves came off.

As the kiss grew more heated, Joel twisted Oakley to his back, coming over him, their hard cocks knocking against each other. Sadie had never seen anything sexier in her life.

For a few minutes, she was content to watch their embrace, but then she couldn’t resist joining in. She pulled the tube of lubrication she’d brought with her from the bag and uncapped it.

Joel jerked when her hand caressed his muscular ass cheek.

“Get on your knees,” she urged him.

He shook his head. “No. It’s not going to happen that way.”

Oakley grinned. “If I weren’t so fucking turned on right now, I’d fight you on that just to see your face.”

“Trust me,” Sadie said.

For a moment, she thought Joel would refuse. He was struggling with her attempts to take over. Finally he relented, going to his hands and knees, caging Oakley beneath him.

He grunted when Sadie squeezed a large dollop of lube into his ass. Joel held himself stiffly, a sure sign that he was ready to exit the bed the second she went too far.

She used just one finger to work the lubrication in and soon Joel began to relax. As one finger became two, he went down to his elbows and began kissing Oakley again, his quiet moans telling her exactly how much he liked what she was doing.

Fingers brushed against hers and she looked down to see Oakley toying with Joel’s balls. She felt like laughing, so she did. Her giggles caused Oakley to break off the kiss with Joel and glance at her over their lover’s shoulder.

“Something funny?” he asked with a grin.

She shook her head. “Not really. I’m just…happy.”

Oakley laughed and she suspected Joel would have joined them as well if she hadn’t chosen that moment to press her luck and add a third finger to the two already in his ass.

“Jesus, Sadie,” Joel said.

She added a little bit more lube to her playground, and then decided to go for broke. She grabbed the remote-control vibrating egg she’d bought prior to
almost
losing the best thing in her life and pressed it inside Joel’s ass.

His back stiffened once more, but he didn’t resist or try to pull away as she introduced him to the toy. Sadie didn’t stop until the vibrator was completely inside. It had a little silicone cord, so pulling it out would be a quick, simple matter if Joel decided he hated it. Not that
that
appeared to be a problem. Joel’s hands had balled into fists by Oakley’s head, his forehead pressed to Oakley’s chest.

“Fucking amazing, isn’t it?” Oakley asked.

Joel didn’t reply immediately. When he did, his voice was gruff. “Yeah. It is.”

“Switch places,” Sadie urged, ready to put the next part of her plan into play. She had no idea if they could even do what she wanted, but damn if she didn’t want to try.

This time, Joel didn’t hesitate. Sadie suspected it was taking all his powers of control simply not to come at this point. That idea pleased her more than she could say.

Once Oakley had assumed the position on top, she grabbed the lube and repeated the same process on him. Unlike Joel, Oakley was obviously familiar with—and a big fan of—anal play. His hips pressed back against her fingers as she stroked him, slicking his channel with a generous amount of lubrication.

They all knew what she was preparing him for, and when Joel said, “Make sure you use enough.” Sadie silently released a sigh of relief. Joel was ready. More than that. He clearly wanted it. Badly.

Once Oakley was ready, she removed her fingers and, after finding a towel on the floor—no doubt Oakley’s, given it had just been tossed down—she wiped off the lube then returned to the bed.

Oakley and Joel had reversed positions once more, Joel kneeling behind Oakley, who was on all fours. When Oakley beckoned her over, indicating that he wanted her beneath him, she smiled.

“You guessed plan B.”

Joel gave her a sexy,
hurry your ass up
look as Oakley nodded.

“If this hadn’t been your plan,” Joel said, “it was going to become it. There’s no way we’re doing this without you.”

Sadie felt foolish for ever thinking she wasn’t a part of this. “I just need one more thing.”

Joel groaned when she grabbed the remote control for the vibrator. “I was hoping you’d forget about that. This isn’t going to last long as it is. You turn that thing on…”

Sadie laughed. “We’ll just have to keep practicing this way until we build up our stamina.”

“Deal,” Oakley said hastily. “Now get under me, Sade. I need to be inside you.”

She crawled under Oakley, sighing when the head of his cock brushed against her clit. It would take precious little to set her off like a bottle rocket.